The Knights of Rassilon
by Cynical Classicist
Summary: Short story. 8, somewhere between The Girl Who Never Was and Blood of the Daleks uncovers a secret Time Lord plan.


A Bowship tumbled through the stars, having just slain a Great Vampire. Captain Dukvotel addressed his Commander. "Mission successful. However have sustained terrible casualties. Don't think we can make it back…" The communicator was smashed as the ship fell towards a burning moon. "This is the end!" cried Navigator Quolbolg. However as they fell… "Temporal disturbances detected!" said Quolbolg. For a moment they had a glimpse of the time vortex. And then…

On the planet the TARDIS landed. Out stepped the Doctor, wearing a green coat. "I must know what that temporal disturbance is." He strolled off and saw before him a battlefield. Thousands of corpses lay strewn about, with all manner of weapons. There were a variety of species, humans, Draconians, Martians… "Looks like quite a fight happened here" he said as he walked towards it.

A middle-aged woman ran forward. "Hello, I'm the Doctor" said the Doctor politely.

"Can you help me?" she said.

"What happened?" said the Doctor.

"There was a battle. A rebel force tried to seize the planet. They have been stopped but thousands are dead!"

"Then it seems I can't help" said the Doctor. "The battle has already happened."

"But my husband's body, I need to find it!" said the woman. "I want to have a funeral for him! Our daughters and their husbands have been looking for it for over half an hour. And he was a commander. He should be somewhere!" She showed a holographic picture of a stern-looking man with short brown hair, wearing grey armour with two red symbols on his shoulder. The Doctor looked back at the TARDIS. He felt tempted to go back and save this Commander. But he knew the effect saving even one person from death could have. An idea struck him. "How long ago was the battle?" said the Doctor. "3 hours" said the woman. "And your husband was called…" "Commander Edward Samuel Bret Callisto. I'm his wife Sophie." "I think I can help!" said the Doctor. He ran back to the TARDIS. I mustn't intervene he told himself, just see his death.

Four hours earlier the Doctor materialised on a hill overlooking the battle. The Doctor took out a telescope he kept with him and looked around the battle. He saw an Ice Warrior being stabbed by a creature mostly covered in machinery, a Draconian having its chest blasted open, then he saw Commander Callisto running along through the battle, putting up an incredible fight, and relaying orders. The Doctor couldn't deny that this man was a brilliant soldier, he was beginning to turn the course of the battle… Then a woman wearing a red helmet struck him in the chest with a glowing blade, fired from a gun. Callisto staggered forward, spitting blood, and blasted the woman's head off. The Doctor saw him stagger towards the hill, barely able to stand.

There was a bang from behind. The Doctor turned, sensing the displeasure of the TARDIS. "Hang on old girl" he said. "We just need to wait a little longer." He turned back and saw a man materialise suddenly next to Callisto. He was dressed in advanced-looking armour. From his hand came a beam which caused the dying commander to fall unconscious. The man seized him and disappeared. The Doctor looked at the spot in amazement. He ran back into his TARDIS and began manipulating the panel. "Where have you gone?" he said. "Ah, time travel!" he said. He began the dematerialisation procedure. "I may not be able to directly follow you!" he said. "But I can still find your time trace…"

The TARDIS shot through the vortex, in pursuit of the mysterious kidnapper. Finally it jolted to a stop, having got slightly ahead of the time trace. He turned on the scanner and saw a familiar world. "That's from the Constellation of Kasterborous!" he said, looking at the world, a large moon orbiting the gas giant Polarfrey. It was a bleak moon, apparently used for experiments by the Time Lords as nobody cared about it. The Doctor guided the TARDIS down when suddenly there was a terrible buffeting, nearly throwing him from his feet. He ran round the console, pulling at the levers, and skimming through the vortex, trying to find a way through the barrier surrounding the world. "What is the matte?" he said annoyed as he piloted the TARDIS. "Why would those Time Lords care about energy-efficient time experiments being disrupted?"

On a moon of Gallifrey in the Monitor Building there was a beeping sound. A technician drinking Pig-Bear sweet-milk stopped and swivelled her chair to the console. She looked horrified at the information and pressed the communications button. "This is Technician Qowel Kogvomius! There is a breach on Project Knight!"

An older Time Lord, millions of miles away, received the message. He looked at it in horror and ran to the Security Transmitter. "Attention Project Knight! Security Breach! Immediate interception of craft!"

The TARDIS landed on the planet and the Doctor walked out. "An atmospheric bubble?" he said, breathing in the air. "I wonder when a pompous person with bad fashion sense and the something of Rassilon will come along and tell me to buzz off." There was a door ahead. He pushed at it but it didn't budge. The Doctor took out the sonic screwdriver but that didn't budge the door.

Then the warrior the Doctor had seen on the battlefield appeared, holding Commander Callisto. The Doctor darted away as the warrior moved forward. "Activation Code D07483" he said. A light scanned him then the door opened. He carried Callisto in, the Doctor following. "Those Time Lords, so useless when people get inside" he muttered as he walked through a tunnel. After about half a minute the Doctor came out into a huge room and looked round in amazement.

There were thousands of pods there, each containing a specimen. The Doctor could see a variety of species, Sontarans, Rutans, Draconians, Martians, humans, even Time Lords. They each had a mental emitter next to them. The Doctor ran up to one and made mental contact. Immediately thoughts were sent through him with such force he buckled at the knees. "Fight…For the glory of Rassilon…Destroy the Enemy…Fight…What are you doing here?" The Doctor realised the last one wasn't from the mental emitter and turned to see a stern-looking man pointing a staser at him. "Execution? But there's so much I haven't done, haven't met Vincent Van Gogh…Never gone to Hedgewick's World of Wonders…"

"Silence!" yelled the Time Lord. "You're going to the Governor!" He gestured with his gun.

"Are you trying to clean it because I have a handkerchief right here" said the Doctor rummaging through his pockets. "If you do not come now I will be forced to take severe measures…" threatened the Time Lord. "Alright. I'll come" said the Doctor, trudging off.

The Doctor was marched through two doors and saw a desk behind which sat an old Time Lord with an elegantly-trimmed hair and beard. He was wearing a smart green uniform with the seal of Rassilon on the front and dictating to a machine in an elegant voice. "Yes Pandak..." He stopped abruptly. "The Doctor I presume?" he asked. "That is what I am normally called" said the Doctor. "Now tell me what you are doing here."

"And why should I?" said the Governor. "I'm a curious Time Lord?" said the Doctor. "I've already seen enough, so knowing a bit more couldn't hurt. Then you can perform your Time Lord security measures on me."

"Very well Doctor. This was a project created in the days of Rassilon" said the Governor. "A very secret project."

"Another secret of Rassilon?" said the Doctor. "You know, finding out big secrets like this no longer surprise me. I've had enough trouble from Rassilon already. How many things do the Time Lords have hidden? Are the Vampires actually nice? Are those rumours about the betrayal of Omega true?"

"It was implemented for the protection of Gallifrey!" said the Governor.

"That is interesting. I heard that Rassilon stopped this practise of plucking people from history to fight for the Time Lords. Now it turns out that..."

"Quiet!" shouted the Governor. "We would look through history, finding warriors whose bodies weren't found. We plucked them from their supposed ends and took them here. They form the Knights…"

"…of Rassilon!" said the Doctor simultaneously with the Governor. It took him a moment to realise this. "It is actually named after Rassilon?" said the Doctor, close to laughter. He hastily changed his tone.

"You're snatching people like they are your slaves!" said the Doctor angrily. "Forcing them to do your dirty work for you! I had to risk execution by you lot to stop a plan like this and lost a body I was rather enjoying..." "The War Lord?" said the Governor. "I have read the file of that event but what we are doing is quite different. We are not doing this for attack but defence. We are snatching them from their time of death. It is not like the Death Zone, they are not fighting for our amusement." "For this living death..." "We are extending their lives!" said the angry Governor.

"At the cost of making them your slaves!" said the Doctor. "I'd say that Rassilon put a stop to this disgusting practise but knowing him he probably started it. I save one person and the Web of Time is almost destroyed. I get criticised for that while you do this millions of time over. How do you expect to keep this covered up? Wouldn't someone have noticed?"

"They think of us as spirits or monsters" said the Governor. "I remember some from Earth thought I was a Valkyrie two bodies ago. Anyway we seal this place off. You were only able to enter as we need more due to... recent events." "And you've managed to keep this secret?" asked the Doctor. "I have said enough" replied the Governor.

He turned to the Guard. "Have his memory erased."

"Erase my memory?" said the Doctor as he was seized. "I have trouble remembering how often that has happened to me in this body alone! And how do I know you'll do it right and I won't forget the last 10 years?"

"We are experienced in minds here!" said the Governor. "If it makes you feel any better when I have finished here I will have my memory erased."

"This is really getting better and better" said the Doctor as he was taken to the door. "I demand an audience with the High Council on this!"

"We are not..."

"Come on! You're an important Time Lord. You love bureaucracy!" said the Doctor with a forced smile. "Contact your superior! Look through the Matrix!" "Keep him in a cell!" said the Governor sternly. "I can break through most locks..." smiled the Doctor. "Use Lock Level 1!" said the Governor. "Can only be opened by me or the President's biodata codes. I doubt if you can manage to break out of there Doctor."

The Doctor was thrown into a cell, the door slamming shut behind him. He looked round. "As cells go I'm giving this four out of ten" he muttered. "When do you bring the tea?" No answer. "Three and a half out of ten!" said the Doctor. "In the villains dungeons you are not doing well!"

He strolled over to the door and placed his hand in the machine. "Code President, 68436901" he said politely, remembering the information he had gleaned from Romana. Of course he had only one chance. If he failed the alarms would sound. There was a beep and a mechanical voice said "Code accepted."

The Doctor strolled out to come face to face with a guard who was sitting idly down, polishing his gun. He jumped up, scrabbling to hold his gun. "What...?" The Doctor's fist shot out, catching the man in the face. There was a cry of pain from the Doctor while the man went down. He rubbed his hand. "Really need to practise" he said, glancing at his bruised knuckles. He picked up the helmet and armour and pulled the man into the cell.

"Sorry to do this" he said. "But you probably won't remember this soon!"

As he was about to put on the helmet he suddenly had a thought and glanced over into it. "Aha! A biodata scanner!" he said. He pulled out one of the guard's hairs, one of his own and did some dabbling. Finally he placed the helmet on and it gave a reassuring beep. "Biodata scan confirmed."

The Doctor smiled and walked through the corridors, passing another guard. Nobody noticed that the guard was about a head shorter but of course he was supposed to be at the door.

Finally he got to the most recent pods again and glanced around. There were no guards in this area. He hastily began to glance through them. Of course now he thought about it how could he just leave the others here? But he had told Sophie he would get her husband back. And he shouldn't break his word. Suddenly as he glanced around he saw Edward, sitting in a pod. He bounded forward and touched the side. A holographic relay came up with a mass of information about Edward. "Let's see, date of birth Humanian Era 5/6/2871, date of death 7/1/2908, name... blah blah blah... Ah!" he said as he came to the brainwashing program. "Quite similar to the Matrix. Now if I can just..." He pulled out a wire and linked it into the telepathic circuits of his helmet. Suddenly he was elsewhere...

There was a war going on around him. Everywhere he looked there were people fighting, indistinct shapes. And over them boomed voices, telling them to fight and obey. The Doctor saw enemies of the Time Lords, Vampires, Sontarans, Daleks, thousands of enemies seeming to die each moment. "Edward Callisto!" he shouted. One man turned. The Doctor recognised him. "What to do want? I'm rather busy!" he yelled.

"How did you get here?" asked the Doctor.

"What? Well..." A Sontaran rushed at him and he whipped round, blasting its head off. "I don't have time..."

"JUST REMEMBER!" yelled the Doctor. The area seemed to blur, just for a moment. "Come on! Change!" shouted the Doctor. "This doesn't exist! Say it with me!"

"It doesn't exist!" said Edward, so taken by the commanding voice of the Doctor. The whole area blurred again, then reformed into a castle with a ball pool and alien birds flying round.

"Pulled you into a place I built from my memories" said the Doctor. "Been working with building mind palaces since Caerdroia." He concentrated and a chair appeared with Draconian symbols on. The Doctor sat. "So, here is what is happening!" he smiled, waving his head. A library appeared and a stream gushed out over the man, who came up spluttering. "I've been kidnapped by Time travellers?"

"Yes. And I'm here to get you... Oh." The Doctor looked worried. "If you get out of that pod, there's a good chance you'll die."

Edward Callisto looked round him and momentarily the images of war appeared. By the time the people were woken for war, this would be the main thing they knew. "Do so Doctor" he said. "I would prefer to sail into the Great Unknown then be trapped in a world of war."

The Doctor concentrated and reached up, pulling the wire from his helmet. With a jolt, so sudden he fell over, he was back in the real world. And an alarm was sounding. The Doctor knew his memory would be erased. He had to work quickly.

Three guards burst in to find the Doctor again unplugging the telepathic circuits. "Drop your weapons!" shouted a woman.

"Weapon? Do I have... Oh" said the Doctor, picking a staser out of his armour. "Sorry. I'll just..."

"Don't try anything. You don't have the biodata" said the woman.

"So the holding myself hostage trick won't work? You have it then" said the Doctor, throwing it down. "I surrender!" A staser blast struck him down, with such force he almost regenerated.

As he crumpled the woman ran forward, seeing the pod open. "The healing process hasn't finished!" she shouted, pressing desperately. But it was to late. Callisto was dead.

When he came to he was again before the Governor. "So you left your cell" said the Governor with tranquil fury.

"Yes" replied the Doctor. "It seems I did. So I suppose the memory removal happens now?"

"Take him away!" said the Governor, his rage breaking forth.

As he was nearly out he thought of Sophie, waiting for the body of her husband. "Wait!" he said as he was nearly at the door. "If I don't find the body I will have found something odd. I'll want to investigate. And I'm sure none of us want to go through this again." The Governor looked at him coldly. "Very well Doctor, you may take one of the people back. Of course being taken from stasis will kill them."

"I met them in the mind and they already agreed! And they should have died anyway" said the Doctor angrily.

"Perhaps one day, when you have become someone who knows what war is, this memory will be returned" said the Governor.

"I hope I'm not that person next" said the Doctor, as he was dragged away.

As Sophie sat on the battlefield she heard a wheezing, groaning sound and turned to see the TARDIS appear. The Doctor carried the body out and set it down on a rock in the battlefield. Sophie ran over to him. "Thank you!" she said. "I should have done more" said the Doctor sadly. "You've done all you can" said Sophie. "Thank you for what you did do."

"Yes. I suppose I did help" said the Doctor sadly. "But I feel like going now." He walked back into the TARDIS. Soon it was flying through the vortex again, with the Doctor sitting inside, reading The Last Man on Earth and wondering what had happened.

The Bowship flew through the systems again, amidst a Dalek Fleet. "We have taken damage!" cried the Captain. "We can't continue fighting! We must leave battle!" "You must fight!" came the powerful voice of Rassilon, again their commander. "Do not let the enemy destroy us! Remember you were saved from death to fight here!" "What was the point of being plucked from the end of our timestream if we simply end here?" said the Captain angrily. "And we Time Lords, who were trying to bring order to the Universe, what are we becoming?" There was no answer. The ship shook horribly as a blast from a Dalek ship struck. The Bowship careered down and broke apart, the crew finally reaching their demise in battle after millennia.


End file.
